The dental restoration of a partially or wholly edentulous patient with artificial dentition is typically done in two stages. In the first stage, an incision is made through the gingiva to expose the underlying bone. After a series of drill bits creates an osteotomy in the bone, a dental implant is placed in the jawbone for integration. The dental implant generally includes a threaded bore to receive a retaining screw holding mating components therein. During the first stage, the gum tissue overlying the implant is sutured and heals as the osseointegration process continues.
Once the osseointegration process is complete, the second stage is initiated. Here, the gum tissue is re-opened to expose the end of the dental implant. A healing component or healing abutment is fastened to the exposed end of the dental implant to allow the gum tissue to heal therearound. Preferably, the gum tissue heals such that the aperture that remains generally approximates the size and contour of the aperture that existed around the natural tooth that is being replaced. To accomplish this, the healing abutment attached to the exposed end of the dental implant preferably has the same general contour as the gingival portion of the natural tooth being replaced.
Once the clinician believes the implant is suitable for receiving a prosthesis, surgical techniques are used to place the dental prostheses by means of an abutment, which is often metallic. According to one prior art technique, the metallic abutment has an internally shouldered access bore through which a screw is inserted to hold the abutment on the implant.
In other techniques, a ceramic abutment is used. Since a ceramic support post is of greater hardness than a titanium implant, the ceramic may cause damage to the implant. In some embodiments, a metal core is used with a ceramic post to allow for a titanium-to-titanium interface between the abutment and the implant. Further, when examining the juncture between the support abutment and the titanium implant through conventional dental x-ray imaging, the interface between the metallic core and the implant is more readily viewable. Such embodiments of a ceramic abutment with a metallic core are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,343,930 and 6,168,435, which are commonly assigned and herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.